Religion
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White Supremacy in the Church: Black Leaders Discuss the Way Forward
Mandisa Thomas was never made to go to church or believe in God. She learned about various gods through literature and history. Daryl Bloodsaw grew up beneath the shadow of white supremacy in Monroe, Georgia, the site of the 1946 Georgia lynching of four black sharecroppers by an unmasked, white…
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Diversity in the Evangelical Christian Church: A Closer Look at Nations Church in Athens
Diversity is one of the words used by Nations Church, a local Assemblies of God Church off Macon Highway in Athens, to describe itself. Indeed, over the last eight years, nearly 25% of evangelical churches in the United States have become what is considered a multicultural church, meaning no single…
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A Faith-Based Electorate: Link Between Religion, U.S. Politics Over Time
From the rise of evangelical influence to the influence of the Black church during the Civil Rights Movement, Christianity and politics in the U.S. have always been linked. The relationship is longstanding and even played a role in this year’s election. Here is a timeline of key religious currents…
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Barrow County Churches Turn Into Polling Stations for 2020 Election
Churches are built for faith, but they take on a different purpose for the community on Election Day. Places of worship provide an open and efficient space for their congregation and voters, alike. Five of the eight polling stations in Barrow County were located in churches in 2020. Among them…
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UGA Students React to Election Results, Discuss Faith and Politics
In the wake of Election Day, three students at the University of Georgia shared their thoughts on politics and the recent election, and how their personal faiths impacted how they voted. \t Mahnoor Farooq: Junior psychology major, member of the UGA Muslim Student Association \t Zainub Ali: Sophomore…
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How Pope Francis’ Recent Messages Will Affect Catholic Voters in Georgia
Pope Francis released his newest encyclical, Fratelli tutti, at the start of October. The letter is meant for Catholics worldwide, but the messages he penned focus on topical issues in the United States 2020 election. The topics covered included: movement across borders, whether or not there can be…
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Imam Brings Past Religious Leader Into Present Day Anti-Racism
As a Sunni imam, Omar Suleiman, who completed doctoral studies in Islamic Thought and Civilization, balances issues of faith, culture and social unrest. Following the death of George Floyd, he advocated for a reckoning with American police brutality and drone strikes abroad. By speaking at multiple webinars a week, Suleiman…
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Haley Lerner’s Presbyterian Faith Calls Her to Seek Justice
Haley Lerner discovered that social justice is rooted in her Presbyterian faith when she was in college. Now, just a few years later, she guides college students toward this same discovery. Lerner, a Philadelphia native, moved to Atlanta in 2016 to pursue her Masters of Divinity at Emory University’s…
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UGA Catholic Community Speaks Out On Barrett’s Confirmation
Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in Tuesday as the new Supreme Court justice, just a little over a month after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Barrett was nominated on Sept. 22, 2020, four days after Ginsburg’s death, and the time it took between her nomination and confirmation was…
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‘We Have a Responsibility:’ Local Jewish Groups Respond to Injustice, Racial Oppression
As a people group with a horrific history of discrimination, Jewish groups in Athens have explained why pursuing issues of social justice are paramount to their religious identity and urgent after the death of George Floyd in May 2020. Ellie Reingold, a junior interdisciplinary theater and animation major at…